Nights in Absaroska
by ThePinkLady16
Summary: When Sarah Nighthorse left Absaroka county 13 years ago, she left behind her family and two broken hearts. Now she's back can time heal old wounds and bring two families together? Branch/OC Please R


"_Families are the compass that guides us. They are the inspiration to reach great heights, and our comfort when we occasionally falter." _– Brad Henry

Chapter 1 – When You Wish Upon A Star

Sarah Nighthorse sighed at the sights in front of her as she drove down the highway. The sun was just beginning to rise over the mountains of Absaroka County, Wyoming and the sky was going from pitch black to a deep purple. Stars still sparkled like diamonds in the sky as they met the skyline of the infamous Bighorn Mountains in the distance. Every so often Sarah would see a shooting star and watch it fall into the mountain range. A younger her would have made a wish; however, she was an adult now and she knew wishes were futile. Life had made sure of that.

In the front seat passenger seat of her SUV next to her, her daughter, Gia, began to stir. Sarah reached over to stroke her hair out of her face. "Wake up sleepy head. We're almost there."

Gia grunted in response but still opened her eyes. Looking out the window, Gia's eyes grew wide as they passed a field of horses.

"Oh. My. God. Mom do you see those? Are they wild?"

Sarah smiled. Being a lover of horses ran in her blood.

"Probably not, sweetheart. Wild horses tend to stay away from civilization."

Gia looked around at the nearly bare landscape, "There isn't any civilization."

"You know what I meant."

"Can I go riding later today? Grandpa said he has horses. Do you think he'll let me ride them? Why couldn't I bring Duchess? She's going to miss me!"

"Woah! Slow down. For someone who's been asleep since we got off the plane you're talking a mile a minute." Sarah smiled. "We will see. Yes, he has tons of horses. I'm sure he will let you ride them. Duchess is testy in new surroundings. And I'm sure she'll be fine."

Gia, satisfied with her answer, sat back in her seat. "How much longer do we have?"

"10 minutes."

"Is there anyone here I'm going enjoy?"

"Besides your grandfather, which is the whole reason for this visit?" Sarah asked. Jacob Nighthorse turned 60 earlier in the spring, and had spent that birthday in the hospital with pneumonia. Even though it wasn't too serious, Sarah had been reminded that her father wasn't immortal, and as he got older it wasn't fair to make him travel to DC too see her because she was running from her past.

"Grandpa is nice, but mom you can't expect me to hang out with old people for three months."

"He's not old."

"He's older than me."

"So am I."

"You're old."

Sarah scoffed indignantly. She was only 32. "Well that's rude."

"It's true. Mooooom, if there's going to be no one here, can I please go with Lauren and Tara to the Hamptons this summer?" 

"Absolutely not. You have your whole life to go to the Hamptons with Lauren and Tara. This is family time. And to answer your question _again, _yes, there will be other kids your age on the res and in town."

"Res? What's res?"

"_Jesus. My dad is going to kill me." _Sarah thought to herself. He'd always told her that Gia wasn't learning anything about her history and culture whenever he came to visit.

"It's short for reservation."

"Like an Indian Reservation?"

"Yes, Gia, an Indian Reservation. If you didn't know that why do I pay $30,000 for you to go to school? You are ¾ Cheyenne."

"I know what an Indian Reservation is, but my teachers always said that Indian Reservations were miserable places with lots of crime."

Yep. Her father was going to murder her and the Tribal Elders were going to cover for him.

"Gia, whatever you do, never in your life repeat what you just said. Ever."

It was the twelve year olds turn to sigh in indignation.

Gia shrugged. "So what do people do here? Besides ride horses. Is there a mall? A movie theater?"

"The nearest mall is in Denver, and there's a movie theater in Laramie."

"You mean the nearest mall is a hour and half away? How am I going to shop?"

"You have enough clothes, Seven Suit Cases and Three Storage Bins."

Gia huffed. "This is going to be horrible."

"We will go to Denver. But promise me you will make the best out of this trip. You're grandfather is really excited for you to be here."

"Promise. I promise."

Sarah did an internal dance. The older she got the more stubborn Gia got. However, Gia always kept her promises.

After a few final turns, Sarah pulled down a long drive way and into the carport on the side of a western style mansion. She was home.

"Is this it?" Gia asked.

Sarah nodded and sighed. "Home sweet home."


End file.
